Tracy Clarke and her horse Diesel aren’t new to the Hack 1000 Miles challenge, but this is the first time they’ve crossed the finish line.

“I started this challenge for Diesel’s rehabilitation after he had an operation on his leg. Although I didn’t manage 1000 the first time round, we were near at 827.3 miles. It gave me the encouragement to retake the challenge and this time I completed with six weeks to spare.”

Tracy finds hacking a great way to boost Diesel’s confidence and fitness. And she’s certainly happy to go for double figures. After one 10 mile hack solo, she really noticed an improvement.

“It felt like all my hard work with Diesel was finally worth it. We had a lovely 10 mile hack by ourselves. There were lots of challenges (pony eating monsters) but he just took them in his stride.”

In September Tracy found a new like-minded friend, Danielle Rowles, thanks to the hack 1000 miles group. “The ponies were great and got on with each other as though they had known each other for years.

“We explored some lovely Leicestershire villages and reservoirs. It was great. We experienced drones, combine harvester working loudly, several tractors and charging cows. It really tested the ponies and we couldn’t have asked for them to behaved any better.”

It didn’t take long for them to become firm hacking buddies, as they agreed to take on the additional challenge of riding from Woodhouse, Leicestershire to Lake Windermere in the Lake District.

“We will be able to complete the challenge in a total of 17 hacks, which is crazy when you think about it.

“Who would have thought that only a few months ago, we didn’t know each other. Thanks to this wonderful friendly encouraging group for bringing people closer together.”

They split the journey in to parts, spending Sunday funday’s hacking to their hearts content. It was while doing this challenge that Tracy hit the 1000 mile mark.

“It was our first of three days tackling the Mary Towneley Loop. I couldn’t have done it without Danielle. Thanks for all your help, encouragement and your company.”

Could you Hack 1000 Miles? Find out more about our fun, free, achievable challenge here.

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